After some time, everyone finally made it back to the surface. However, their condition remained poor, and they were relying entirely on the pain Olivia provided to stay conscious.
Under the prolonged, pervasive pain, some could not help but let tears stream down their faces, looking quite pathetic.
"We need to move. It's raining outside; go and get soaked. That might help curb the corpse poison in your systems," Olivia reminded them.
Those undergoing mutations caused by corpse poison required ample sunlight or immersion in clear water to resolve the issue.
Rain certainly wasn't enough, but it could at least further alleviate the effects of the poison, enough to sustain them until they reached the church.
'It’s a pity it's a rainy day.'
Olivia looked at the pitter-patter of the rain outside the tavern with a helpless expression. If there were plenty of sunlight, resolving the matter would have been much easier.
"Let's go, back to the church," Ronan added, his voice sounding exceptionally raspy.
Now was the time to race against the clock.
The group boarded the carriages one after another, opening the roofs to let the heavy rain fall on them. They drove the carriages quickly through the streets.
This was undoubtedly a conspicuous sight, drawing plenty of attention along the way.
However, similar situations hadn't been rare in Kaliron recently. After all, when the church's transcendents clashed with heretics, it was inevitable they would occasionally appear in a disheveled state.
Upon returning to the church, Olivia and the others met Gareth Pierce, the Administrative Priest for the week.
When he saw Olivia and the rest, the priest's expression couldn't help but shift.
His gaze swept over the drenched group and then over Olivia, the only one whose body was dry. He asked her, "What happened?"
"Something rather unfortunate occurred..." Olivia quickly recounted the events.
As he listened to Olivia's description, Gareth's face changed several times.
"I understand the situation. Everyone, go receive treatment immediately. As for Sister Olivia, although you seem fine, go and get a check-up as well," Gareth arranged things in an orderly fashion.
"I understand," Olivia did not refuse.
The church had a dedicated treatment room. The group was quickly moved inside to receive treatment from professional transcendents.
Clearing the corpse powder was relatively simple—soaking in clean water was enough. However, the group had already undergone a certain degree of mutation under the influence of the corpse poison, which had caused significant damage to their bodies. That part of the treatment would not be so easy.
It would take time.
After being checked and confirmed to be fine, Olivia left the treatment room.
Standing in the garden outside the treatment room, Olivia fell silent for a moment.
'We were almost wiped out...' A lingering sense of fear couldn't help but rise in her heart.
"Yes, Sister Olivia, you have undoubtedly performed a great merit this time. You saved so many clergy members." Gareth walked over, looking at Olivia with deep meaning. "In any case, go and get some proper rest for now. I will arrange for others to continue investigating the related matters."
Hearing this, Olivia said seriously, "Dalia Sullivan is very insane. We must be careful."
Gareth nodded. "We understand. From the previous incidents and this one, it's clear the opponent's target is likely our church itself. I will make sure everyone takes the necessary precautions."
The Administrative Priest didn't say much more. He had busy affairs to handle, so after a few words, he hurried away.
Seeing this, Olivia could only head to the meditation room to meditate.
...
Night gradually stained the sky, as if a deity had knocked over an ink bottle, letting the ink flow across the heavens.
Olivia spent quite a bit of time in the meditation room until she felt hungry. She opened the door, intending to go to the canteen for a meal.
However, just as she opened the door, she saw a familiar figure walking down the hallway.
It was Melanie.
"Olivia." Seeing Olivia, Melanie raised a hand in greeting. "What a coincidence, I was just coming to find you."
"Ms. Mills," Olivia walked over.
Before Olivia could say anything else, Melanie spoke. "I already know what happened on your end. I must say, you've earned another merit. Your luck is quite good."
Her luck was indeed good. If Dalia had been a bit bolder and stayed behind to deliver the finishing blows, it would have been a total wipeout.
Olivia muttered to herself inwardly.
"Ms. Mills, I used some of my Ascetic abilities this time. How should I cover that up?" Olivia asked.
Melanie smiled. "Don't worry, that matter has already been resolved. Everyone will simply think that the extra methods you displayed were the result of help from a forbidden artifact."
"A forbidden artifact?"
"That's right. Didn't you have contact with Sister Julia before? It can be said that Sister Julia gave you a forbidden artifact, which happened to let you resolve this crisis."
"What about later? If my companions expect me to bring out a corresponding forbidden artifact to handle things, I won't be able to."
"It's very simple," Melanie laughed. "The reason given this time is that you were helping Sister Julia complete a theoretical application. Therefore, Sister Julia lent you a few non-dangerous forbidden artifacts for research. Once this incident is over, those forbidden artifacts will be returned to Ms. Elliott. So, there's no need to worry about the future."
Olivia was thoughtful.
This excuse wasn't exactly perfect, but it was enough that the church's internal hierarchy accepted it.
Once Ronan and the others saw that the church recognized this as the true reason, they naturally wouldn't question whether the church had made a mistake. The church was always rigorous in its dealings and almost never made errors.
"Let's talk about something else." Melanie gestured toward the meditation room, indicating they should go inside to talk.
Olivia nodded and followed Melanie back into the room.
Inside the spacious meditation room, a Lighting Talisman emitted a faint glow, ensuring that visibility in the large room was nearly the same as during the day.
Melanie said to Olivia, "Olivia, you performed very well this time and earned enough merit. Combined with your previous accumulated merit, you can now exchange it with the church for the contents of the Ascetic's second advancement ritual and the corresponding spiritual materials. Do you want to exchange for them? Or something else?"
Hearing this, Olivia said without hesitation, "The Ascetic advancement, of course."
After mastering the pain spell, Olivia had already mastered all the abilities of the Ascetic at the Pilgrim rank. All that remained was to wait for her magic power to reach the standard for advancement.
So, the choice was obvious.
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